Family policies and the weakening of the male-breadwinner model

2018 ◽  
pp. 153-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Daiger von Gleichen ◽  
Martin Seeleib-Kaiser
Keyword(s):  
Family Policies ◽  
Male Breadwinner

scholarly journals Both Parents Working: Challenges and Strains in Managing the Reconciliation of Career and Family Life in Dual-Career Families. Empirical Evidence from Austria

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerlinde Mauerer
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Dual Career ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Family Work ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Male Breadwinner

The presented empirical data analysis aims to shed light on the persistence of gender inequalities in sharing parenting responsibilities and addresses possible improvements for realising gender equality. In recent decades, family policies in the European Union have targeted the increase of men’s shares in parental leave (= paternal leave) as well as women’s participation in the labour market. Following the results of the Lisbon Treaty in 2000, many EU member states including Austria introduced non-transferable fathers’ quotas in their regulations on parental leave. Subsequently, the share of men on parental leave increased. Nevertheless, both in number and duration, men’s childcare allowance claims have remained lower than women’s claims. This paper investigates shared parental leave practices based on 36 interviews with fathers on paternal leave, and 14 follow-up interviews with parents after paternal leave. The qualitative data reveal the challenges that arise when both parents are faced with reconciling work and family during and after parental leave. Although the data showed that progress has been made in reducing gender inequality, the interviews make clear that employers’ attitudes perpetuate traditional gendered expectations of parental leave claims and still focus on images of a male breadwinner. Also, the distribution of gainful and family work reveals gender inequalities. The paper therefore discusses challenges that arise in the realisation of current gender and family policies in order to provide a basis for making changes that further enhance the opportunities for dual-career couples within the organisation of parental leave laws.

Germany

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina A. Adler ◽  
Karl Lenz ◽  
Yve Stöbel-Richter
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Father Involvement ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Culture Of Care ◽  
Dual Earner ◽  
Male Breadwinner ◽  
National Comparison ◽  
Workplace Cultures

This chapter describes the context of current German family policies with special emphasis on regional differences since unification in 1990. West Germany’s legacy of the strong male breadwinner system and maternalism continues to support a different gendered ‘culture of care’ than that in the East, where the socialist dual earner system has left its mark. The classic Western conservative welfare state recently has incorporated some social-democratic policy features. Both regions now have the same increasingly father-friendly family policies and there is a common public discourse on the desirability of ‘active fatherhood’. However, while data on father involvement with young children reflect somewhat more engagement in the Eastern states and a generally high number of “weekend fathers,” in cross-national comparison Germany boasts relatively low levels of father involvement. This may be due to remaining maternalist traditions and slowly changing workplace cultures.

The Work–Life Balance from the Perspective of Economic Policy Actors

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Ackers
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Work Life ◽  
Work Life Balance ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Life Balance ◽  
Female Labour ◽  
Male Breadwinner ◽  
Family Friendly ◽  
Traditional Work

This article reviews the burgeoning literature on work–life balance and family-friendly policies in European countries, noting the new interdisciplinary dialogue between traditional ‘work’ and ‘family’ disciplines. It examines the findings from interviews with economic actors, suggesting that, while work–life balance and family-friendly policies are an issue everywhere, progress is very uneven. Overall, strong traditional family policies have not contributed to work–life balance, since they are predicated on a traditional male breadwinner model. A combination of strong demand for female labour in the service sector and equal opportunities policies is, however, causing employers and government to address the issue.

Le basi culturali delle politiche per la famiglia negli anni 1950 e 1960 e il ruolo dei valori religiosi

2013 ◽  
pp. 75-90
Author(s):  
Birgit Pfau-Effinger
Keyword(s):  
Social Role ◽  
Religious Values ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Gender Culture ◽  
Male Breadwinner ◽  
The Social ◽  
Modern Family ◽  
Main Ideas

The "housewife model of the male breadwinner marriage" is a specific cultural family model based on two main ideas: a separation of the "public" and "private" spheres, which in turn implies a corollary location for both genders, and the notion of protected childhood within the privacy of the household. It is considered to be the cultural basis of conservative family policies, but its influence differed across West European countries in the 1950s and 1960s. In the present chapter the Author discusses how these crossnational differences can be explained, paying particular attention on the specific relevance played by religious values. In this regard, it is a common assumption that the housewife model is embedded in Catholic religious values, whereas the Protestant religion supports more modern family models. In this essay, by contrast, it is argued that there was no direct link between the dominance of Catholic or Protestant religion and the cultural basis of the family policies in a given country. The Author shows that the origins and development of the housewife model were not connected with Catholic values and that its main supporter, in fact, was the urban bourgeoisie. This cultural model of family laid the ground for the overall gender culture, and gave a common trait to the different religious pillars of the Catholic, Calvinistic, and Lutheran religions. We surmise that factors other than differences in the dominant religion/s per se played a pivotal role, including the social role of the urban bourgeoisie, socio-economic structures, and the density of settlement.

scholarly journals Recent reforms in French and German family policies: similar challenges, different responses

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne Fagnani ◽  
Antoine Math
Keyword(s):  
Parental Leave ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Male Breadwinner ◽  
The Family ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Paradigmatic Change ◽  
Work Family ◽  
Gradual Approach

This article investigates whether the recent reforms introduced in the family policies of both France and Germany are leading the two countries towards some measure of convergence. Germany has favoured dramatic changes, especially a new parental leave allowance, while France, for its part, has chosen a more gradual approach that has translated into an enhancement of its promotion of work-family reconciliation policies along with steady increases in spending related to childcare provision over the last decade. Despite a rise in its overall supply of childcare Germany still lags far behind France in this domain, a phenomenon that can be partially explained by a combination of institutional obstacles, the persistence of social norms governing childcare for under-3s, and excessive demand. We argue that the main drivers for paradigmatic change in Germany have been concerns over the consequences of declining fertility; a shortfall of qualified workers; and, the shattering of certitudes following an OECD study on childhood education. In France reforms in parental leave policies have been more incremental with, for example, mothers being encouraged to retain their links to the workforce even while on leave. But while the reforms adopted by Germany represent a radical departure from the former ‘male-breadwinner model’, mothers’ employment rates remain lower than in France and German mothers work part-time with much greater frequency than their French counterparts.

scholarly journals Decisions concerning job-related spatial mobility and their impact on family careers in France and Germany

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-215
Author(s):  
Beate Collet ◽  
Estelle Bonnet
Keyword(s):  
Family Policy ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Spatial Mobility ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Raising Children ◽  
French Study ◽  
Male Breadwinner ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Employment Rates ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors

Job-related spatial mobility raises questions about women’s and men’s professional life. It does not always accompany a specific job or a promotion; it may also arise as the consequence of being in a dual-career couple. We will study how the decision is handled by bi-active couples, compared to couples who live according to the more classical ‘male breadwinner model’, and how other socio-demographic factors, especially the presence of children, influence the decision in favour of mobility. We will compare data on France and Germany drawn from the European Survey Job Mobilities and Family Lives (2007) realised in six European countries. Women’s employment rates and family policies are not the same in the two countries. While France has for several years provided solutions to help women remain in the labour force while raising children, Germany only recently abandoned a mother-centred family policy which pushed women to stay at home while raising their children. Statistical data will be completed by results from two qualitative studies to see more precisely how job mobility is experienced concretely. One study was realised in France in 2006. Results from the other study in Germany in 2001 will be reported. Both place the accent on mobile people who spend several days a week away from home. A typology of ‘family careers’, developed in the French study and applied to the French and German data shows that couples differ with regard to the decision-making processes on mobility, which reveal different underlying partnership patterns. Zusammenfassung Beruflich bedingte räumliche Mobilität stellt die Frage nach der Erwerbsarbeit von Männern und Frauen. Es geht dabei aber nicht nur um die Entscheidung für einen bestimmten Beruf oder für einen Karriereschritt. Mobilität kann auch eine Folge von Doppelerwerbstätigkeit eines Paares sein. Wir gehen der Frage nach, wie die Entscheidung bei bi-aktiven Paaren im Verhältnis zu mono-aktiven Paaren getroffen wird und inwieweit andere soziodemographische Faktoren, besonders die Anwesenheit von Kindern in der Familie, Mobilitätsentscheidungen beeinflussen. Wir vergleichen deutsche und französische Daten, die in einer europäischen in sechs Ländern durchgeführten Studie Job Mobilities and Family Lives (2007) erhoben wurden. Die Erwerbstätigkeit von Frauen und die Familienpolitik sind in beiden Ländern relativ unterschiedlich. Während Frankreich schon seit Jahren Mütter mit konkreten Maßnahmen unterstützt, die es ermöglichen einer Erwerbstätigkeit nachzugehen, ist die Familienpolitik in Deutschland erst kürzlich von dem mutterzentrierten Modell abgekommen, dass Frauen darin unterstützte zuhause zu bleiben und die Kinder zu erziehen. Die statistische Auswertung wird vervollständigt durch Ergebnisse aus zwei qualitativen Studien. Die eine wurde 2006 in Frankreich durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse der zweiten 2001 in Deutschland durchgeführten Studie werden berichtet. Beide Studien interessieren sich für Mobilitätsformen, die mehrere Tage Abwesen¬heit von zuhause verlangen. Eine Typologie unterschiedlicher „Familienkarrieren“, die im Rahmen der französischen Studie ausgearbeitet worden ist, wird hier zur Analyse des deutschen und französischen Materials herangezogen. Die Paare unterscheiden sich in Bezug auf den Entscheidungsprozess bezüglich der Mobilität und dieser wiederum hat unterschiedliche Partnerschaftskonzepte als Grundlage.

National Family Policies in EC Countries in 1990

1993 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-366
Author(s):  
Heather Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Family Policies ◽  
National Family

The Impact of Women’s Employment on Marital Stability in Qatar Society

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-151
Author(s):  
Noora Ahmed Lari ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Work Motivation ◽  
Marital Stability ◽  
Female Employment ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Family Policies ◽  
Insufficient Time ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The State of Qatar has implemented several family policies in order to improve the wellbeing of Qatari families and ensure fair distribution of development benefits for both men and women. However, there is a linkage between female employment outside the home and instability in the marriages of Qatari families. This paper investigates the impact of female employment on marital stability, based on the results of primary data collected in Qatar, a questionnaire that consisted of several sections such as challenges in the workplace, supervisor, family and spouse relations, work motivation and performance. Of the 824 questionnaires that were returned, 807 were completed and valid for analysis. Regression analysis and an ANOVA test have been used to test the relationship between the variables. The results of the research have produced mixed findings about how wives’ employment increases marital instability and have yielded few significant differences on mean scores of discuss on work demands, insufficient time together, housework, financial matters, communication, relatives and rearing children. The results indicates that in general Qatar working women face several challenges in relation to their marital life as part of cultural and social constraints.

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